A properly drafted Will is a necessity for every adult.  Making your Will is an important step to ensuring your family will be properly looked after if anything should happen to you.  Without a Will, you have no control over who will look after your property and your children if you pass away.

Without a Will, all of your property will be divided according to Barbados law. Sometimes this can lead to a division of estate assets that you did not wish or intend.  In addition, there may be unnecessary delays and costs in administering your estate.

A court will appoint someone to look after your estate, and, if required, to be the guardian of your minor children.  The people the court chooses to appoint to these roles may not be the people you would have chosen.

If you are separated from your spouse, you should make a new Will as soon as possible if you do not wish your estranged spouse to inherit.

If you have looked through the deceased’s personal files and papers and nothing can be found, a search must be completed at the Supreme Court Registry in the Depository of Wills. If you know lawyers or financial advisors that the Deceased has seen in the past, check with those lawyers.

If no will can be found after these steps are taken, then the estate will be treated as an intestacy.

In intestacy, the Supreme Court will issue Letters of Administration and appoint an Administrator of the Estate. In most cases, that person will be a spouse, child or parent of the deceased. If none of those persons are willing or able to apply, then the applicants may be grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews of the Deceased. If there is a conflict (more than one applicant) there are rules that govern who is likely to be appointed. As a condition of appointment, an Administrator will be required to post a bond. Once the Administrator is appointed, he or she is required to locate and preserve assets, to determine and pay estate liabilities, and (subject to other claims against the estate) to distribute remaining estate property in accordance with the Succession Act, Chapter 249 of the Laws of Barbados. The Administrator must be prepared at all times to provide to the Court and to any beneficiary or creditor his or her “accounts”, showing his or her dealings with estate assets.